Piecing together evidence from an extensive range of manuscripts in Britain and the Netherlands, Ginny Gardner reveals both the character and structure of this unique group of refugees. By examining its interaction with other elements of Dutch society and the attitude of the British authorities towards it, the author concludes that it remained a distinct part of the Scots expatriate population, unable because of its circumstances to integrate fully into Dutch life.

The author also considers the community’s political and religious significance, which peaked with its involvement in the debates over James Vll’s indulgences and, more important, its links to William of Orange. The latter allowed exiles to participate in the crucial political developments of the late 1680s and allotted them a prominent position in the invasion of 1688, leading the author to reassess the traditional view that Scots were essentially passive participants in the Revolution. The book closes with an account of the central role that the former exiles went on to play in the post-1688 Scottish government and church.